_Most of what we do is automatic. If you think about it,  we could not actively consider every single action. We would be exhausted and get very little achieved in the day. Our brain is very clever at putting us on automatic pilot. Eating is no different. Our brain reminds of occasions when eating has occurred in the past and our bodies respond with hunger signals. And if our brain gets just a hint of a food cue, those hunger signals start too.

As a result, if we have been in the habit of snacking at 3pm, then our brain will be on the lookout for the time and our tums will rumble. If you have been used to eating a snack while Eastenders is on, the theme tune will get the juices going and the cupboard doors opening. Knowing this, means we can take action to avoid it.

Hypnosis works by helping you become aware of these occasions and stick to decisions you have made about ho

Without realising it, our eating is affected by the person we sit next to.

If it is a really fat person, then we will eat a bit less than them. Their weight serves as a warning to us. But if we sit next to a skinny with a huge portion, then we automatically, without thinking, get the idea that it is okay to pile on the food. This research is from the University of Chicago.

We are affected by all sorts of cues when it comes to eating. The modern environment is full of encouragements to eat. This includes a food ad on the telly (research shows that any food on the telly makes us hungry, even if we have just eaten). Or flicking through a slimming magazine (more talk about and pictures of food in these than you would expect). The sight and smell or popcorn in the cinema. Or passing a restaurant fragrant with cooking smells. And then there is habit. What do you pair your unnecessary eating with. Is it 3pm, a cup of tea and a biscuit? Or in front of the telly with the pringles? Or a glass of wine and a bag of nuts?